Virginia Legal Age Of Consent (Legal Age for Consensual Sex)
What is the 2016 Age of Consent in Virginia?
The Virginia legal Age of Consent for sexual contact is 18 years old. There are a total of eleven states have set their age of consent at 18 years old, the highest legal age of consent in any state.
A close in age exception to the Virginia legal age of consent allows teenagers aged 15, 16 and 17 to engage in sexual acts, but only with a partner younger than 18. Consensual sex where one partner is 15, 16 or 17 and the other is over 18 is a class 1 misdemeanor.
Virginia Close-In-Age Exemption
Virginia has a close-in-age exemption, also known as a "Romeo and Juliet law", to the legal age of consent. This provision allows partners who are close in age, or both under the Virginia age of consent, to engage in consensual sex without fear of prosecution under Virginia age of consent regulations. For more information, read about close-in-age exemptions.
What is the Age of Consent?
The Age of Consent is the age at which a person is deemed by Virginia law to be capable of consenting to, and engaging in, sexual acts. Anyone who engages in sexual activity of any type with a partner under the applicable Age of Consent is breaking the law and can be charged with crimes ranging from a misdemeanor to a felony (statutory rape) depending on the jurisdiction in which they are prosecuted. Virginia's specific laws on the Age of Consent can be found above.
What happens if I violate the Virginia Age of Consent?
If you engage in sexual activity with a minor who is under the Virginia Age of Consent of 18, you can be prosecuted under Virginia sexual abuse laws and charged with crimes ranging from sexual assault to first degree rape, regardless of whether or not the sexual acts were consensual. Depending on the charges, conviction can carry penalties ranging from one to fifty years in prison and registration as a sex offender .
What happens if I travel to a state where the Age of Consent is lower?
In most states, the travel or transportation of a minor over state lines with the intention of engaging in sexual activity is in itself a severe misdemeanor or felony. As a result, it is generally not possible to evade a state's age of consent rules by travelling to a different state.
Need more information? Find data on the age of consent in other states.